Thursday, March 29, 2012

West Charlotte’s Kennedy Meeks and United Faith’s Braxton Ogbueze made the team for the second straight season. Providence Day’s Tiffany Mitchell became a rare three-time all-state girls pick.

Also on the girls team are Bandys sophomore Madi Story, Salisbury sophomore Brielle Blair and Kennedy Charter junior Rajsha Blackmon. Olympic’s Allerik Freeman, who has narrowed his college choices to Kansas and Villanova, made the boys team.

Wilmington New Hanover County’s Kadeem Allen, Raleigh Upper Room’s Rodney Purvis and Morrisville Green Hope’s Kristen Gaffney led the vote totals from a 22-person media panel from around the state. Allen and Purvis each earned 20 of a possible 22 votes. Gaffney earned 21 votes to lead the girls’ team.

The AP prep basketball coaches of the year for North Carolina will be released Friday. The players of the year will be released Saturday. The Observer’s annual All-Mecklenburg, All-Region and All-Observer teams will be released next month, along with the final Sweet 16 polls.

A little on the area selections:

Meeks, a 6-foot-9 junior, led his team to a second straight N.C. 4A state championship appearance. An IB student and National Honor Society member, Meeks is ranked among the nation’s top 30 players in his class.

Ogbueze, signed to Florida, is a 6-1 guard who averaged 22 points this season. He’s a top 40 national recruit. Freeman, a 6-3 junior, averaged 18 points and six rebounds for a 28-2 team that was nationally ranked for much of the season.

On the girls side, Mitchell is the reigning N.C. Gatorade player of the year. She averaged 20 points, seven rebounds, four steals and 2.8 assists for a 29-4 team that won a third straight state private school championship. Kennedy Charter’s Blackmon is a 6-foot guard who led the state in scoring at 31.5 points. She was 13th nationally and also averaged 12 rebounds and 3.4 steals. Salisbury’s Blair, a 6-1 forward, averaged 22 points and nearly 14 rebounds.